Bumbling Ineptitude
by OhWhatPun
Summary: An AU one shot on a bumbling Beca encountering a pretty red-headed waitress. Rate T for strong language.
**A/N: This is a one shot story that I got the idea for based off of a friends bumbling ineptitude when she encountered a pretty waitress ;) Figured I would give you all something to read in between chapters of LIGLY.
**

 **Read and enjoy! :)**

* * *

Beca makes her way over to where Jesse is already sitting in a booth looking over the menu. She lets out a light laugh because she knows full well that he knows what he's getting already. She notices their usual beers aren't already on the table. He must not have been waiting long. She slides her way into the booth across from him.

"Hey, how long ya been waiting?" she asks.

"Not long," he responds, never looking up from the menu. She waits. When he doesn't further acknowledge her presence, she reaches across the table and pulls the menu down out of his face.

He looks up.

"Act like you're actually looking at the menu right now," Beca says, wearing a smirk. Jesse raises an eyebrow at her.

"Actually, for your information, I am." A playful gasp comes from across the table. "I've decided to switch it up." Beca throws her hand over her heart. Jesse just rolls his eyes at his best friend's antics. "Whatever. I do what I want," he says, twirling his hand in the air, returning his focus to the menu.

"Sure. But you can also order beers and you didn't do that, so."

"Well, that's because the waitress hasn't come over yet," he says, nodding his head in the opposite direction where Beca assumes the waitress is standing. "I think she's new." He scrunches up his nose.

"Oh no, not again. Where's Eric? I'm gonna have a talk with him." Beca jokingly slams her hands down on the table and begins to stand. Jesse's fervently shaking his head side to side, eyes wide, warning her to keep it down. "Last time he hired some new girl, she fucked up my order so bad I-"

"Hi, I'm Chloe. I'll be taking care of you today. Can I start you off with some drinks?"

Beca looks up at the new waitress who's beaming at her and freezes in her spot: a half squat, bent over the table, hands gripping the edge. She locks eyes with her. Were they blue? Holy shit, they were so blue. She slowly eases herself back into her seat and neatly links her fingers together on the table, crossing her ankles underneath. What is happening? Why is she sitting like a schoolgirl? She lets go of her hands and places them in her lap, holding them between her knees, unsure of what to do with them, deciding to just anchor them down to prevent any accidents from happening. She stares down at a stray crumb on the table. Stays quiet. Stays put. It's much safer this way.

"Beca?... hey Be-caw?... BECA!" Jesse yells, finally getting her attention. She looks up at him confused, like a deer in headlights. "She asked what you wanted to drink."

"Oh right… umm. I'll have the.. the.. um. I'll just get the…" What are words again? Because they're absolutely failing to find her at this moment. It's like something just misfired, the structures of her brain have caught fire and everything is crashing and burning. "Can I just get the, uhh…" she trails off and looks back down at the table. She wants desperately to hide the obvious blush that's attacking her cheeks. Jesse's looking at her, eyebrows pinched together, like she's insane. She probably is. She definitely feels like she is. She totally is.

"Uh, yeah. She'll just have what I'm having," he says, unable to take anymore of her rambling, handing the menus over to the waitress. The really pretty, red haired waitress.

Red hair? Beca does a double take as the girl walks away from her. She was so caught up in the girl's eyes, she never realized her hair. She watches her while she taps away at the POS system.

What did she say her name was? She couldn't quite remember now. But who cares? A girl like that probably wasn't into other girls. She probably had a boyfriend, too. A really good looking, well established boyfriend who provided for her and gave her the world. That's how it always happened. At least in Beca's experience.

Jesse clears his throat.

"Dude… what. the. hell. was that?" he asks, genuine concern written across his face. Beca looks up at him like a dog does when he's just been caught chewing your favorite pair of sneakers to shreds.

"I-I don't know. I just… I don't know." She buries her face into her hands. "I feel really dumb though. You think she thinks that? That I'm dumb? Did I look really stupid? I probably did. Oh, God, I'm such an idiot. Did I sound like an idiot?" she rushes out, pleading, leaning forward, her chest pressed into the table.

"Okay slow down," he says, holding out his hands. He pauses for a second, making sure he's got her attention. "Yes. Yes you did. You looked completely insane, Beca. Did you forget how to speak? Because what you just said was nowhere near coherent. Like, at all. Not one bit. Not even in the slightest-"

"Alright, I get it," she bites back, wanting him to stop. Jesse lets out a laugh, then reaches out his hand to grab hold of one of Beca's. She tugs away slightly, but gives in.

"Do you wanna talk about what just happened?" he asks, mockingly. She looks back up to meet his stare.

"Dude, are you blind?" Jesse laughs again and lets go of her hand, sitting back.

"Yeah, that's what I figured." He sighs. "So, let's just get a large pizza and share it. I'll order. That way, you won't have to speak again. I can't witness that more than once." He fights the smile that's creeping up so hard, she swears his face might crack. She just rolls her eyes, but doesn't object because… well, because she thinks it's the best idea he's ever had.

* * *

Beca sits in front of the soundboard in the studio as she plays back some songs she's been working on from her computer. She's becoming acutely aware of her stomach as it starts to growl. Looking down at her phone, she realizes it's well past noon and she hasn't eaten anything since that half of a stale bagel she had running out the door this morning.

She unlocks her phone and taps Jesse's name, shooting out a quick text.

 **Beca: hey jess, wanna grab some lunch at brixx?**

She taps the side of her phone, lips pursed, as she waits for his reply.

 **Idiot Best Friend: hey becs, sorry.. already had lunch with aubrey earlier. so stuffffeddddd.**

She rolls her eyes and lets out a sigh. She wants to go to Brixx because that's where they always go. But, she doesn't want to go alone. She'll feel like a loner.

She remembers their lunch date last week and her heart skips a beat. No. She can't go by herself because if the red head is working, she'll never get a word out to even order. Maybe she'll just see if she can do take out. She's almost positive they don't do take out, but maybe Eric will make an exception for his favorite regular. She taps the side of her phone while she thinks.

 **Beca: think eric will let me do take out?**

 **Idiot Best Friend: idk becs. doesn't the sign on the door say "no take out" ?**

 **Beca: maybe…**

She waits.

 **Beca: well then i'll just go by myself…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: hahahaha by yourself? are you ready for that next step? what if red is there?**

Beca's heart picks up its pace.

 **Beca: well then i can keep you entertained with a play by play of my bumbling ineptitude**

No response. He's probably busy with Aubrey shopping at some boring outlet store.

Beca exits her conversation with Jesse and taps on Stacie's thread. Stacie's always been her go-to wing woman for these kinds of things. She's better than Jesse is anyway. She locks up the studio and starts her walk to Brixx.

 **Beca: hey stace. need your help.**

 **Legs: what's up sweet cheeks**

Beca cringes at the nickname. She hates that one. Her cheeks are _not_ sweet.

 **Beca: so there's a new waitress at brixx…**

 **Legs: is she hot?**

 **Beca: beyond gorgeous dude. crystal blue eyes, red hair, smokin hot body. she's the real deal, stace**

 **Legs: OMG is little beca mitchell in love?!**

 **Beca: what?! no! no of course not. i've literally met her one time and that did not go over well… like at all…**

 **Legs: i need picture proof that this woman exists. i need to see who's making my beca all flustered**

 **Beca: wtf? and how do you think that's gonna happen?**

 **Legs: creeper pics!**

 **Beca: no. absolutely not. seriously stace. help meeeee**

 **Legs: okay okay. what do you need help with?**

 **Beca: i'm heading over there alone right now and i'm freaking out! last time i was there with jesse i couldn't form a sentence. or words. i couldn't make words happen.**

 **Legs: well just don't stare at her boobs. just look at her face. she's a people too beca**

 **Beca: useless…**

 **Legs: sorry! haha**

Just then, her phone vibrates with another incoming text. It's from Jesse this time.

 **Idiot Best Friend: sorry, aubs is dragging me around the outlets right now.**

Totally called it.

 **Idiot Best Friend: please keep me entertained with your awkwardness :)**

 **Beca: jess, i'm freaking out. i really hope she's not working today…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: why? then you can get her number ;)**

 **Beca: ugh… fuuucckk meeeee**

 **Idiot Best Friend: maybe later… once you get her number ;)**

 **Beca: dude… no… don't put those visuals in my mind**

 **Idiot Best Friend: just stop thinking of her naked and talk to her like an un-naked human being**

 **Beca: OMG you sound like stacie. she told me to stop staring at her boobs…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: haha she's got a point though… just get in there tiger! and keep me updated! don't forget, you're my entertainment :)**

Beca looks up from her phone now and realizes she's made it to the front of Brixx. It's not a far walk from the studio so she's not sure why she's so surprised. She stares at the door for far too long, jumping backwards when someone opens it to exit, almost hitting her in the face. Placing her phone into her back pocket, she makes her way inside.

Finding her and Jesse's usual booth is open, she makes her way over to it. She swivels her head around and scans the restaurant for any signs of red but comes up empty handed. Her heart settles its stride within its ribcage. Beca places her hand over her chest and takes a few deep breaths.

Why is she having this type of reaction to the redhead? She's been around plenty of pretty girls before, so this shouldn't be anything new. But, there's something different about this one. She never even liked girls with red hair, they were just never her type. But this girl was everyone's type. She had to be. She was just so… perfect.

Beca sighs again and looks down at her phone. A text from Stacie is lighting up the screen. She unlocks it and taps it open.

 **Legs: where are my pics woman!?**

Beca smiles.

 **Beca: I don't think she's even here today..**

She's about to hit send when a body thumps down across from her in the booth. She looks up to meet blue eyes and the brightest smile she's ever seen shining back at her. Beca attempts to swallow the lump that's quickly forming in her throat.

"Hi."

"Hhheeeeeeeee." Words, Beca. Use. Fucking. Words. That was _not_ one. That was not a fucking word.

The redhead smiles at her. That _damn_ smile.

"I know you," she says. "You were here last week with some guy, right? Your… boyfriend?" she asks slowly.

"Whaaa—no. No, no, no." Beca waves her hands back and forth to drive the point across harder. But that's it. That's all she's got.

"Right," the waitress responds, nodding her head. She looks around. "So, is he meeting you, or just you today?"

"Oh, uhh.. me? Me." She pokes herself in the chest. Jesus Christ, she sounds like a Neanderthal. The girl across from her just giggles.

"Okay, 'me,' do you have a real name?"

Shit. Is she trying to have an actual conversation with her? This is not going to work until she maybe has some liquid courage coursing through her veins. A glass of beer could do the trick.

Or two.

Or three.

"Buh-bec, um Bec-" she can't finish.

"Becky?" the waitress tries to guess. Beca shakes her head 'no.' "Bec…uh? Beca?" she tries again, and Beca eagerly shakes her head. The redhead smiles. Beca's heart swells. How could something be so perfect?

"Well, _Beca_ , would you like a beer? Wait hang on," she holds her finger out for Beca to wait, as if the brunette is actually going to say something of substance to her before she can collect her thoughts. "Let me see if I can remember… last week you and your friend ordered Dogfish Head Tweason'ale in a short glass, no?" Beca smiles and shakes her head. She makes eye contact as the redhead smiles back at her. She swears they share a moment, ever so small, before the girl gets up and leaves to get that drink. The brunette buries her face back into her hands.

Beca takes her phone out and taps a message to Jesse.

 **Beca: dude she's working and i'm acting like a complete moron. i need several shots of tequila on top of the beer she's bringing me…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: hey, you ordered a beer. that's a start!**

 **Beca: no. she remembered from last week… i still can't talk. jess i don't get it. she probably thinks english is my second language…**

 **Beca: or that i'm a mute**

 **Beca: or a total freak…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: haha well she's an attractive girl and you're all hot and bothered.**

 **Idiot Best Friend: just get her number already. maybe you won't be as stupid over text message ;)**

Beca locks her phone again as the redhead walks over with her beer. Her best friend is completely useless anyway. He's literally not helping. At all.

The waitress places the beer down on the table in front of Beca and smiles that dazzling white smile at her. Beca's pretty sure she died and went to heaven. A dimly lit, kind of musky, smells of beer and stale French fries kind of heaven, but heaven nonetheless.

"Uh, th-thanks," Beca mutters. Hey, that was a real word! Beca beams back up at the redhead. Proud of herself. She takes a sip of the beer and gives her a thumbs up. The waitress smiles at her… again. That damn smile.

"So," the redhead starts, "can I getcha somethin' to eat?" She takes out her pad and pen.

She's pushing it now. How much more of this verbalization stuff can Beca take? Even though this is the entire reason why she came here. To eat.

Well, maybe not the _entire_ reason…

Beca gulps down another swig of her beer. She's somehow managed to kill about half of the pint glass in a matter of what seems like seconds. Her head already starting to spin a little on her empty stomach. Liquid courage to boost her… word finding problem? Brain capacity? Sanity? She's not sure what to call it. This weird feeling she gets when the redhead is just near her. The crazy butterflies that flit through her insides when she just looks at her. A sensory overload that causes her brain to completely shut down. It's something foreign to Beca, and she can't decide if she hates it, or loves it.

And then the redhead smiles at her again, expectantly.

And, yeah. She fucking loves it.

* * *

Beca walks into her house and throws the keys into the bowl on the side table next to the door. She heads to the kitchen and rummages through the refrigerator, pulling out a beer and some leftover Chinese from the night before.

Her stomach growls as she waits for the microwave to finish reheating her food.

30, 29, 28, 27… She counts in her head as the time ticks down.

When the microwave beeps, she takes out her food and heads into the living room, turning on the TV. Scoffing it down like she hasn't eaten in weeks.

She places her fork down on top of the plate and sits back into the couch. She pinches her index finger and thumb into the bridge of her nose. The fact that she just came home hungry is beyond her. She just can't get herself to understand the events that transpired at Brixx this afternoon.

They're only words. Why are they so hard to find when she's around the redhead? What about her makes this so difficult? She literally ate nothing because she could only get herself to shake her head 'no' when the girl asked if she wanted something to eat. Beca slaps her hand to her forehead now. This girl must think she's psychotic.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, she send a text to Jesse.

 **Beca: well that was disastrous…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: why? what did you do this time?**

 **Beca: jess.. it was bad. we'll just leave it at that…**

 **Idiot Best Friend: sooo.. i'm gonna assume you didn't ask for her number?**

 **Beca: her number? dude I couldn't even ask for a damn calzone. fuck her number.**

 **Idiot Best Friend: hahaha oh becs**

 **Beca: i did get her name though. off the receipt. chloe b.**

 **Beca: that seems so fitting. she looks like a chloe :)**

 **Idiot Best Friend: haha if you say so…**

Beca rolls her eyes and decides to update Stacie on her disaster of a lunch date. Not that it was a date. Obviously that's not what it was in any way. It was just her grabbing lunch… or a beer… By herself. Because she's a loner.

Damn it! Chloe probably thinks she's a loser with one friend that she barely sees and drinks by herself because she's an alcoholic.

She grunts loudly and shakes her head, then fills Stacie in on all the juicy details.

 **Legs: OMG you got her name! have you found her on facebook yet?**

 **Beca: no stace, i'm not that much of a creep…**

 **Legs: so chloe b, huh? and brixx is technically in Atlanta right?**

 **Beca: yes… why? what are you up to?**

 **Legs: calm yourself**

 **Beca: stacie fucking conrad!**

A picture text begins to load. Oh my God. What is she doing?

 **Legs: Is this her?**

Beca looks at the picture. No red hair. No dazzling blue eyes. She rolls her eyes. Does this chick ever listen?

 **Beca: no that's definitely not her**

Another picture text starts loading. Beca's officially aware of the organ beating in the left side of her chest cavity.

 **Legs: is this her? this has to be her.. the red hair is a dead giveaway.**

That thing in her chest skips a couple beats when she sees the photo that pops up. A gorgeous picture of the girl with her hair down in curls around her face. An apparent selfie. The way she holds the camera makes her cleavage show in that low cut white tee she's wearing. Beca feels guilty for staring, but who's going to know?

 **Beca: fuck. yes YOU STALKER!**

 **Legs: hey it's part of my job as match maker ;)**

Another text comes through with a link to the profile page, so she opens it. She's immediately taken to a Facebook page for a Chloe Beale. Unmistakably the waitress from Brixx… and possibly all of her dreams. She knows she probably shouldn't, but she decides to poke around the profile anyway.

It appears to be set mostly to private, but she's able to see some of her pictures. Most of them are just of herself. A couple of herself and others. One of her with another guy. Beca wonders who he is to her. A boyfriend? A friend? A relative?

 **Legs: well i see no signs of her being in a relationship… but what if she's straight? that would kinda fuck up this whole covert mission we got going here…**

 **Beca: well she might be straight… but so is spaghetti before it gets wet ;)**

Beca's taken aback by her own words here. She's not sure what made her type that, but it's out there now. She's interested to see how Stacie will react.

 **Legs: woahhh! alright miss confidenceeee. i can dig it ;)**

Beca just smiles as the text comes through. She taps the side of her phone, pondering this last thought. What are the odds that this girl is straight or not?

 **Beca: well if she is straight, then whatever. maybe I'll be able to actually talk to her and order something…**

 **Legs: you're a hopeless case mitchell…**

 **Beca: thanks stace. love you too…**

Beca locks her phone and pushes it back into her pocket. She gets off the couch and cleans up, shutting off the TV, deciding to call it an early night.

* * *

Beca rises with the sun the next morning. She rolls over and checks the time on her alarm clock. 6:07 AM. She's fully aware she just got about 12 hours of sleep and she's okay with that, but she desperately wishes she could fall back to sleep and stay there. Especially after the dream she just had. She had a whole new sense of confidence in this dream. Though, this has never really been a department she's lacked in. Until Chloe. The patently gorgeous waitress she's only met on two occasions now.

It wasn't sexual in any way, the dream. No, Beca liked to think her subconscious mind had more class than to strip a girl in her dreams before at least the fourth encounter. So she has that to look forward to.

In this dream, Beca was at the restaurant and was still as awkward as ever, except this time, she was actually able to order her meal. She received the check and learned the redhead's name was Chloe B. Deciding to grow a pair, she left a hefty tip, and a note with her number on it.

She sighs, recounting the dream, waking too soon to see what the outcome was. She can only hope her brain was good to her and the dream would have played out the way she wanted it to. Simple. Beca gets the girl.

She decides sleep is no longer an option and rolls herself out of bed. She makes her way to the bathroom and gets herself ready for the day. Deciding to keep it low maintenance, she throws on sweats and ties her hair back in a high pony tail once it's dried.

She heads down the hall to her spare room with her mixing tables and soundboards. Her own mini recording studio. Sitting at the soundboard, she tosses her headphones on and loses herself in the music.

She's only pulled from her zone when her phone buzzes in her pocket. Jesse.

 **Idiot Best Friend: on my way over. be ready. we're going out.**

It's too early for this, Beca thinks, but catches a glimpse of the time before she locks her screen. It's already 1 PM. When the hell did that happen? She rolls her eyes and saves her work, makes her way back to her closet and changes into something more presentable. Sweatpants she's had since she was 15, and an old, ratty sweatshirt that says 'York Beach Lifeguard' across the front isn't exactly a fit-to-be-seen-in-public kind of oufit.

It's gloomy outside and looks like it's about to rain, so Beca decides to keep it comfy and casual. She tosses on a pair of skinny jeans, and a red and blue plaid button up. She scrunches the sleeves up over her elbows, then pulls on her all black Keds.

She sit up on the edge of her bed as her phone buzzes.

 **Idiot Best Friend: here**

So romantic that man is. Granted, he's not her lover, he's her best friend. An idiot one at that. But, still. Can't even give her the courtesy to come to the door.

Once they've pulled out of the driveway, Beca asks where they're headed.

"Just out," Jesse replies.

"You're so weird," she says. "Why can't you just tell me?"

"Are you hungry?"

"Of course I'm hungry. I'm always hungry."

"Okay, then," he says.

She grills the side of his face and wonders if it would explode had her eyes been lasers.

Beca huffs and crosses her arms, facing forward again.

"Fine. Be that way."

"Will you chill out? I'm taking you to lunch. Be happy."

"You're kidnapping me," she says.

"Dude, you willingly got into my car. That's hardly kidnapping."

"Whatever."

Beca catches a glimpse of Jesse's smirk from the corner of her eye. It's got mischief written all over it and she doesn't like it one bit. When they turn onto the next road, she realizes why. They pull into the parking lot at Brixx seconds later, and he parks the car.

Jesse turns to look at her.

"So, don't be mad, but I called ahead to ask if Chloe was working."

"You did what?" Beca spits out, turning to look at him now.

"Well I want to help you, Becs. You've been such a hermit since your break up with Ashley and you need to get back on the saddle." He looks at her with soft eyes.

"Okay, one: I don't even know if Chloe is into me… or girls for that matter. And two: Ashley and I were together for a long time and she broke my heart. I have the right to mourn."

"It's been almost a year, Bec. It's time to move on."

Beca ponders his words for a moment. Has it already been a year since the Ashley disaster? Since that awful bitch cheated on her and lied to her? Since she broke her heart into a million pieces, adding to that never ending Great Wall in her chest?

Maybe Jesse's right. Maybe it's time to move on. But, could Chloe be the one to help her? Could she fix the 'Do Not Enter' areas of her heart and open them up again? She'll never knows unless she tries, right? Right. She can do this.

Jesse reaches over her and opens the glove compartment, pulling out a small paper bag. He ruffles through it.

"Here," he says, holding his hand out. Beca looks at it, then looks back to him.

"What the fuck is this?"

"What does it look like? You're taking a shot… or two… to calm your nerves. Because you need to be able to actually talk to her to if you want to get her number…" He thrusts the tiny bottle towards her again.

"Jess, this is fucking tequila." He smiles.

"I know. And I know what it does to you. That's why I got it."

She rolls her eyes, but knows he's right. It's been so long since she's talked to a girl she was even remotely interested in. The thought of talking to Chloe, a vision of perfection (she's found herself wondering how she's even real), makes her so nervous she genuinely can't even function. And that's not okay. It's not like her. She never used to be like this. Either she's so damaged from before, or there's just something so different about Chloe that makes her act this way around her. Either way, she recognizes it's not healthy and she needs to fix it ASAP.

She takes the stupid bottle from his stupid hand and throws it back in two gulps. She scrunches up her face and gags. Tequila is cool, when you have some salt and limes to chase it with. Warm, raw tequila is just plain disgusting. Jesse hands her another bottle.

"Seriously? Do you want me to _say_ words or _slur_ them?"

"At least there will be words," he jokes. Beca cracks a slight smile. Okay, that was kind of funny. She takes the bottle, throwing it back and gagging yet again. Wiping a couple drips from the corner of her mouth, she puts her head back against the seat. She hasn't eaten anything all day so it's already starting to hit her. Her head feels tingly. She starts to laugh out loud.

"What's so funny?" Jesse asks.

"Just… all of this. I can't believe I need to prime myself before talking to a pretty girl. When was I ever like this?" She opens her eyes and looks at Jesse now. He laughs.

"Never. You were never like this. Which is why I think there's something special about this one… So… you ready?"

"Do I even have a choice?" Beca raises a brow. They both get out of the car and head inside, finding their usual booth.

Within seconds, Chloe makes her way over.

"Oh hey… Beca, right?" Beca nods and smiles. "And, her friend…?"

"Jesse. The name's Jesse." He beams. The redhead smiles back.

"Right. Nice to officially meet you Jesse." She looks over at Beca, but Beca keeps her gaze low, still waiting for the tequila to kick in before she attempts to speak. "I like to get to know my guests. Especially my regulars." She giggles and it sounds like music to Beca's ears. Her heart flutters. "So what can I start you off with? The usual Dogfish Head Tweason'ale or something different this time?"

Jesse looks to Beca. She looks to him with pleading eyes.

"Uh, I think I'll stick with the Tweason'ale and Beca…" he trails off. Beca looks at him and then looks to Chloe. Her smile so bright she might go blind.

"I… I'll have the um… I'll just have… the… the same." Jesse smirks and nods her way in approval. His 'brilliant' get-Beca-drunk-before-she-talks-to-hot-redheads plan is working. The tequila is finally easing its way through Beca's blood-brain barrier and she can feel her body start to buzz with excitement. Or maybe that's just the tequila.

Beca watches as Chloe walks away. She's wearing the red t-shirt today, but it's more of a brick red than a red-red. It has the restaurant logo on the left breast area (not that she's looking at her breasts. Because she's totally not…). It's a haphazard-looking orange circle with the words 'Brixx Wood Fired Pizza' in a bubbly font and same brick red color as the shirt. The back of the shirt has three tall, over flowing beer glasses with the words 'Masters of Beer' above them, and 'Show Beer Who's Boss!' on the bottom in white, all capital letters.

Beca looks back down to her hands and fiddles with her thumbs.

She made a sentence. A broken one. But if you put them together, it makes sense. So that's a success in Beca's book.

"Hey, that wasn't so bad. Looks like the tequila's kickin' in," Jesse says with a wink. "How ya feelin' though?"

"I feel fine. Just starving. But, hey, in case I lose myself, I want the buffalo chicken calzone. Okay?"

"You won't. You'll be fine."

Chloe comes back and drops their beers in front of them.

"Are you ready to order now, or would you like more time?"

"I'm ready," Jesse says. He places his order and they both look to Beca, waiting.

"Buffalochickencalzone… please," she rushes out.

"Sounds good! I'll put those orders right in," Chloe says, looking up from her order pad and flashing them another brilliant smile before she walks away.

Once she knows she's gone, Beca looks up to Jesse.

"Holy. Shit. I said words. Like actual words, Jess."

Jesse laughs out loud.

"I know, Becs. I'm proud of you."

Beca looks him in the eyes. She's not sure what's meant to happen next.

"So, like, how is this supposed to go? Do I just give her my number? Ask her for hers? See if she's gay? Do I ask her that? Like, 'hey are you into women?' No, right? I don't know…Usually I'm in a club and super wasted when I ask girls for their numbers. And it's a gay club so there's a 95% chance that the chick is a lesbian and won't throw her drink in my face, so, like yeah. I don't know what to do here." Beca's rambling on, mostly thanks to the tequila, and partly thanks to the nerves it has yet to reach. "Dude, stop laughing at me. I'm serious!"

"I know you are. I'm sorry," he says, trying to keep a straight face. "You're just so funny when you're drunk."

"Not drunk."

"Well, whatever you are. Finish your beer and then you won't need to know what to do. You'll just do it."

Beca sighs and picks up her beer, taking three large gulps.

* * *

Chloe comes over and drops the check on the table.

"I'll just leave this here, but no rush," she says, as she leans over the table and starts clearing their plates away.

"Thanks," Beca says, reaching over and taking the piece of paper. She's 3 beers in now, and she feels wonderful. She's been able to have a normal conversation with the redhead and feels her confidence level boosting tenfold. "Split it?" She asks Jesse. He nods and takes out his wallet. They both place down their cards.

Chloe walks by and Beca grabs her hand slightly below the wrist, before she can walk past. She looks at her and smiles, then hands the redhead their cards.

"We're all set. Just split it 50/50," she says, and Chloe nods. The redhead parts her gaze from Beca's down to the hand that's still holding her in place. "Oh, right," Beca says, and lets go.

It felt so right. Her hand was so… soft? Yeah. Soft. And gentle. Her hand felt like it would be gentle. Like it could be gentle if she touched her.

Okay, Beca. Now we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here.

She sighs and places her head down on the table. It's swimming now. Her brain is working a mile a minute and her heart is pounding between her ears. She's definitely drunk now, and she doesn't even care. Her face is on fire and her stomach is filled with delicious food and butterflies. She starts to laugh lightly, her head still on the table.

"You alright?" Jesse asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good. Just thinking of what to do next."

She picks up her head when Chloe comes back to the table balancing the tray she was carrying on the edge. She hands each of them their cards and pens to sign, then places two drinks down in front of them.

"Thought you could use some waters…" she says. "Thanks for coming in today. I hope to see you soon?" It's posed as more of a question than a statement, and Beca swears it's aimed directly at her as she makes eye contact with the redhead. But that could just be the fact that her blood alcohol level is well above the legal limit by now.

Beca's breath hitches in her throat, and for the first time since her first beer, she's unable to speak. Chloe's eyes are lit up like the 4th of July and Beca can't find the words. More because she's just rendered speechless, lost within a sea of crystal blue glaciers, than anything else. She doesn't feel nervous. She just feels something. And it's a good something.

Chloe walks away and Beca signs her receipt. She decides on what to do, leaving a generous tip and drawing an arrow pointing to the back of the receipt, where she writes a note. A very obviously drunk note, that says:

' _I hope you have a boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other…_

 _whatever you're into… that tells you every day just how beautiful_

 _you truly are. If not, text me and I'll be more than happy to oblige…_

 _But only if you let me take you on a proper date where I can give_

 _you the whole world and treat you how you deserve to be treated…_

 _-Beca'_

Signed with her number at the bottom. She double checks to make sure she didn't write Jesse's number or miss a digit somewhere. When she's satisfied, she flips the note over and looks up to see Jesse staring at her.

"What'd you just do?" he asks, a smirk creeping across his face.

"Nothing," Beca answers, her lips doing the same.

They get up from their spots and head back to Jesse's car.

* * *

Beca walks through the front door and kicks her shoes off where she knows they don't belong, but fuck it, she's drunk and she'll pick them up later. She tears off her shirt, revealing just her tank top underneath, and tosses it onto the back of the couch. She plops herself down onto the couch and puts the TV on. Closing her eyes, she starts to drift when her phone suddenly goes off.

"Dammit, Jesse. I was just with you. What the hell do you—"

She cuts herself off when she realizes it's an unknown number. She unlocks her screen and taps it open. Beca sits upright and rubs at her eyes, making sure she's seeing correctly.

 **Unknown Number: so you think i'm beautiful, huh?**

Chloe. It has to be Chloe.

Beca, still oozing with confidence, types back her reply without hesitating.

 **Beca: i'd have to be blind not to…**

Beca's getting nervous when minutes tick by without a response. And then…

 **Pretty Red Head: pick me up at 8? :)  
**

* * *

 **A/N: Let me know what you think! The next chapter of Like I'm Gonna Lose You will be up soon! If you haven't checked that one out yet, head on over and give it read..**

 **Stay weird :)  
**


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